TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Taiwan Research Institute of Arts announced the winners of the "2018 Taiwan Oil Painting Competition" Saturday, July 21 in Kaohsiung, including three grand prize winners and 23 honorable mentions.
The first place winner, Chang Kuo-erh (張國二), earned NT$400,000 (US$13,000) for "Early Summer" (初夏).
Second place went to Syueh Hung-wei (薛宏瑋) for "Chat in Front of the Window" (窗前細語), and third place went to Wu Wen-cang (吳汶倉) for "Secret Solitude" (秘寂).
This year marks the 14th occasion of the oil painting competition. Each year seeks a new theme centered around the beauty of Taiwan, which have yielded paintings of both natural and urban landscapes, according to Lin Fu-nan (林富男), the director of the Taiwan Research Institute of Arts.
Approximately 219 oil paintings were submitted to the competition this March and only 27 pieces advanced to the final round of judging, according to the competition guidelines and results.
Competition finalists will be displayed in the Kaohsiung Culture Center now through July 31 followed by a stint at National Kaohsiung Normal University August 2 through August 14 and then Taiwan ARTCCI Oct. 3 through Oct. 30.
Director Lin said last year many Chinese artists participated in the competition and received honorable mention, however this year 20 Chinese painters participated and only a few received top accolades. Lin wonders if perhaps the Taiwan-focused theme discourages entrants, though he welcomes and encourages artists from both sides of the strait.
